This invention refers to an air or gas-powered gun, of the kind comprising a pivoting barrel which in firing position is aligned with the outlet of a delivery valve connected to a compressed air or gas reservoir, a hammer for operating the delivery valve actuated by a trigger, a detachable cylindric loading clip, interposed between the valve outlet and the barrel, provided with several recesses for holding projectiles, and means associated to the trigger in order to step by step rotate the loading clip to align each of the recesses with the barrel at the moment of firing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5160795 discloses a gun of this kind in which the barrel and the detachable cylindric loading clip are arranged on a tilting assembly hinged with respect to a frame. The tilting assembly in addition includes a set of levers constituting the means for step by step rotating the loading clip. The tilting assembly is provided with a movement between an open loading position, in which the loading clip is accessible and a closed firing position in which the barrel is aligned with a recess of the loading clip and with the outlet of the air or gas delivery valve, and in which a lever of the set of levers of the step by step rotating means is coupled with a part of the trigger.
The hammer is pivotingly mounted between a cocked position and a firing position, and it is elastically loaded for striking a slide of the delivery valve, this later leaving thus that an amount of compressed air or gas is allowed to pass which is sufficient for impelling a projectile from the loading clip through the barrel. The hammer is cocked by the trigger, which has associated a link comprising a groove which is coupled to a protruding roller mounted on the hammer bottom. When the trigger is pressed, the link is moved backwards and rotates the hammer against the elastic strength, hammering it. The hammer includes a cam which, when exceeding a given hammering angle, lifts the link, releasing the elastic strength accumulated in the hammer so that this later wildly rotates towards the valve slide for firing.
Mounted hinged on the link, there is a safety part which prevents that the hammer strikes the valve slide if the trigger has not been previously operated. That part, when the trigger is pressed and the link is moving backwards, is lifted to be interposed between the hammer head and the valve slide transmitting the hammer striking power to the valve. When the trigger is not pressed, the safety part is not interposed and the hammer head does not achieve its slide striking.
A drawback shown by the gun consists in the fact that the loading clip step by step rotating mechanism is mounted on the tilting assembly, as it adds complexity to the assembly and increases the likelihood that, unwanted misalignments occur. To prevent them, the gun disclosed requires providing the trigger with a linear travel and including an appendage integral with the trigger designed to secure the correct alignment of related projectile holding recess with the barrel at the moment of firing when the appendage is inserted in grooves located on the cylindric wall of the loading clip.
On the other hand, the gun disclosed lack a safety which prevents that the trigger is operated when the tilting assembly is in an open loading position therefore a useless expense of compressed air or gas and the mechanisms idle operation would be prevented.
To overcome above drawbacks, an object of this invention is to provide a gun of this kind in which the step by step rotating mechanism of the loading clip is mounted on the frame thereof.
Another object of this invention is to provide a gun of this kind which has a safety device preventing to actuate the trigger when the tilting assembly is in open loading position.
Eventually, another object of this invention is to provide a gun of this kind in which a safety device for preventing a casual shot without the trigger having been actuated comprises a mechanism independent from the mechanism of the hammer being cocked by the trigger.
Above purposes are achieved, according to this invention, by providing an air or gas powered gun comprising a frame supporting a compressed air or gas reservoir connected to an assembly of delivery valve operated by a hammer striking a slide of the valve. On the frame there is mounted a trigger provided with a pivoting movement between a resting position and a firing position, the trigger can actuate the hammer. Mounted hinged on the frame there is a tilting assembly provided with a movement between an open loading position and a closed firing position, the tilting assembly comprising a barrel and a detachable cylindric loading clip rotatably mounted with respect to an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the barrel, the loading clip being provided with a plurality of recesses holding a projectile.
Mounted on one part of the frame, with respect to which the tilting assembly bearing the barrel and the loading clip is hinged, there is provided means of step by step rotation of the loading clip associated to the movement of the trigger to step by step rotate the loading clip for aligning one of the recesses holding a projectile with the barrel at the moment of firing. The step by step rotating means comprise a first set of levers functionally connected to each other, one of the levers being linked to the trigger and another of the levers being linked to the loading clip when the tilting assembly is at its said firing position.
The gun of this invention includes means constituting a locking safety for locking the movement of the trigger by immobilizing a member of the first set of levers when the tilting assembly is at referred open loading position in which there exists an access to the loading clip. The locking means are released by the action of the tilting assembly when the tilting assembly is located at its closed firing position, in which the barrel and a related recess holding a projectile of the loading clip are aligned with the outlet of the assembly of air compressed delivery valve.
The gun of this invention in addition comprises safety means for preventing the hammer strikes the slide of the valve without the trigger has been operated, the safety means comprising a safety part functionally connected to the trigger through a second set of levers, the safety part remaining in a position interposed between the valve slide and the hammer, transmitting the strength of the impact thereof, when the trigger is in its firing position, and the safety part is withdrawn from the intermediate position when the trigger is in its resting position, so that an eventual impact of the hammer does not reach the valve slide. These safety means allow the hammer direct cocking independently from the trigger, and are useful for preventing a fortuitous shot when the hammer, being cocked, is accidentally released, for example when it is hurt because of a fall, so that the safety means are usually called xe2x80x9cfall safetyxe2x80x9d.